[denny]

He said the interest in home brewing — at least in our area —  has declined.  You may be struggling for the same reason??

I think this is the right answer. I can't find any statistics on homebrewing from the AHA after 2017. I suspect if the numbers were good they would publicize them. I know craft beer has been declining since then and I also assume homebrewing has followed a similar trend.

Homebrewing has exploded the last couple years with people stuck at home.  My LHBS is going gangbusters.

[ynotbrusum]

He said the interest in home brewing — at least in our area —  has declined.  You may be struggling for the same reason??

I think this is the right answer. I can't find any statistics on homebrewing from the AHA after 2017. I suspect if the numbers were good they would publicize them. I know craft beer has been declining since then and I also assume homebrewing has followed a similar trend.

Homebrewing has exploded the last couple years with people stuck at home.  My LHBS is going gangbusters.

I think it is a regional thing, perhaps.  Here in Northern Illinois, it has remained steady, I believe, but some of the shops that are doing well are expanding into areas that are new and responsive to the current trends - offering new craft malts, new yeast mfg's, all in one devices in stock, combining the shop with other offerings: such as craft beers on tap at a bar or table area and/or available in cans, bottles and growlers to go, wine and mead making and cideries on site, charcuterie offerings, etc....  Really interesting how these entrepreneurs find a way to reach a larger swathe of devotees.  I am all for it and hope they can remain evolutionary, if that is what it takes to stay open and provide me with the basics that I seek from them.

[Wilbur]

Central IL

Kegs come up for sale pretty regularly for $25-35/ea. Carboys are $5-10 if they're glass. Anything plastic is free. That's closer to 25% of the new price. Everyone I know that's bought equipment has gone with an all in one. People just want the ease of use.

I wonder if part of your issue is related to the size of your system, I seem to remember you designed your system for smaller batches. I doubt I could find anyone that would buy a kettle smaller than 10 gallons.

[nateo]

One of my buddies is a pro brewer and he bought a cheap Chinese all in one for home use. So I agree competition with the new all in ones could be a factor in selling older style systems.

[narcout]

I have already put more into this than I had expected, and am thinking of adding a bigger boil kettle and making a immersion chiller.  I kinda dig the do it yourself stuff, so, for me, cost and need is a big thing.

Do you ever make it down to Los Angeles?  I have a 10 gallon Megapot with installed ball valve and thermometer that's just collecting dust in my garage.  You can have it if you want it.

[Thirsty_Monk]

I have already put more into this than I had expected, and am thinking of adding a bigger boil kettle and making a immersion chiller.  I kinda dig the do it yourself stuff, so, for me, cost and need is a big thing.

Do you ever make it down to Los Angeles?  I have a 10 gallon Megapot with installed ball valve and thermometer that's just collecting dust in my garage.  You can have it if you want it.

Those are nice pots. These days I use it for CIP.

[hopfenundmalz]

Homebrewing is not growing. The new automated electic systems are what new homebrewers are attracted to. If I ever move my halfbarrel propane fueled system would probably  have to be given away, and i would get an automated all in one electric system.

[redrocker652002]

I have already put more into this than I had expected, and am thinking of adding a bigger boil kettle and making a immersion chiller.  I kinda dig the do it yourself stuff, so, for me, cost and need is a big thing.

Do you ever make it down to Los Angeles?  I have a 10 gallon Megapot with installed ball valve and thermometer that's just collecting dust in my garage.  You can have it if you want it.

PM sent to see if we can work out the details. 

[Joe_Beer]

Homebrewing is not growing. The new automated electic systems are what new homebrewers are attracted to. If I ever move my halfbarrel propane fueled system would probably  have to be given away, and i would get an automated all in one electric system.

Just my opinion but I think it's a bigger issue in general and not just homebrewing.

The whole "DIY" culture has been on a decline for decades. Farmers are probably the epitamy of DIY and that industry is not anwhere near what is was 20 or 30 years ago. The manufacturing industry (in the United States and probably elsewhere) was everywhere but has mostly all up and went to countries with humongous populations and easily exploitable labor forces. I think that industry used to foster a ton of creativity. People would work with the same laborious process for a 10 or 12 hour shift and sometimes it would spark certain individuals to "do it better". That mindset branched out into many other areas - like homebrewing - where people wanted to do "do it better". I think the DIY'ers are still out there but they don't have the same impetus to get them fired up, or challenged. I dunno.. Maybe I just got too many hypothesis..

and yeah, the electric brewing systems are hard to beat. Less to clean, take up less space, no fuel "to buy", can be used indoors and the Foundry comes with a nice chiller to boot. 

[RC]

Like any other "skill", making good beer at home takes time, practice, and patience. And although one can get away with using relatively primitive equipment, it still takes hundreds, even thousands, of dollars, as well as many many many brews, to get to the point where your homebrew rivals what you can buy at the store.

I'm not sure I buy that homebrewing has become more popular due to the pandemic. Certain LHBS's may have increased sales, but...does anyone have any (current!) data that suggests a direction for the hobby? Perhaps it is indeed a regional thing. In my region (Sacramento area) it definitely appears to be on the decline.

It's a very niche hobby. And among all the other pressing concerns of our modern era, many being an actual existential crisis, I can understand why fewer people would take up the hobby.

[nateo]

It's an imperfect proxy, but Google trends is the closest thing I've seen regarding data about homebrewing's popularity. If you go to trends.google.com and punch in homebrewing as a topic you'll see it peaked around 2011 and has been declining since.

Anecdotally that peak is around the same time I remember running into lots of random people from diverse backgrounds who were into homebrewing. I can't recall the last time I ran into another homebrewer in the wild, outside of beer-specific events.

[hopfenundmalz]

The DIY Maker thing has moved on to the BBQ and Meat Smoking area, as i see it.

[nateo]

Agreed on the diy focus on food. Baking had a brief moment during the early days of the pandemic as well. I'm still surprised at the number and variety of people I meet who still follow great British bakeoff.

[ynotbrusum]

I must say that among homebrewers that I meet, a majority are also "foodies" with either/and a baking, cooking, smoking meat or barbecue passion.  I can't say that the reverse is true.  But cookbooks and niche cuisine has always seemed popular (just watch PBS on any given Saturday afternoon).  Homebrewing has received occasional mention in those venues, but not much of a focus on it.

But that is ok.  Most people who know me start every conversation with "what have you been brewing lately?"  That and asking for a beer. 

I sure hope the hobby has viability, even if the numbers are declining.

[Thirsty_Monk]

It's an imperfect proxy, but Google trends is the closest thing I've seen regarding data about homebrewing's popularity. If you go to trends.google.com and punch in homebrewing as a topic you'll see it peaked around 2011 and has been declining since.

Anecdotally that peak is around the same time I remember running into lots of random people from diverse backgrounds who were into homebrewing. I can't recall the last time I ran into another homebrewer in the wild, outside of beer-specific events.

It is interesting to look at the Google trends. It works great for them what people are looking for (and try to monetize those words).

On the other hand just because I am
Looking for something does not mean I am doing it or buying it. Or in the reverse just because I am not searching for something does not mean that I am not doing it (absence of data).

I compare two car companies. Mercedes Benz and Volkswagen. First company had much more searches then second but there is more cars driven by second company then first.